Thomas Bordeleau played two seasons in the NCAA at Michigan University before he turned pro with the San Jose Sharks.
Thomas Bordeleau played two seasons in the NCAA at Michigan University before he turned pro with the San Jose Sharks.
Thomas Bordeleau played two seasons in the NCAA at Michigan University before he turned pro with the San Jose Sharks.
With the Sharks signing Quinnipiac star Collin Graf today, Bordeleau had a message for the 21-year-old.
"I think is really more just every day is just performance, performance, performance," Bordeleau said. "In college, you got Monday through Thursday to develop and just go through your practice and do everything and then Friday and Saturday night, it's time to execute. Here, every other day you play, you don't get that much practice."
Bordeleau is in his third stint in the NHL and has shown improvement. He has been moved to the wing for the time being and Sharks head coach said he is playing "NHL Hockey".
But Bordeleau told THN about the mental aspect of the transition. He alluded to imposter syndrome and the feeling of intruding in a locker room that has grown close as the season has progressed.
"There's always that feeling of am I an intruder here," Bordeleau explained. "You got to think about the fact that you made it there. You deserve to be there as much as anyone else. It's just time to play your game."
"We're all boys in here and we're going to try to make him feel accepted for sure," he said.
Luckily for Graf, Sharks head coach David Quinn says he is familiar with people inside the organization.
"He has some familiarity with some of our players," Quinn said. "He's got a little bit of familiarity with our staff, so that'll help him a little bit."
As for what Graf needs to do to be successful:
"Just be himself. I think when players come here and try to be someone they're not, that's when they get in trouble," Quinn said. "Do the things that put them in a position to be here."
Graf was seen as the NCAA's No. 1 free agent, and reportedly, six teams were interested in signing him.
"You have to mature a lot quicker in college. You got to prioritize a lot of stuff over other stuff in college," Bordeleau said about his decision to play in the NCAA. "It makes you grow up and it makes it make or break. I think it's a good learning experience to go through that and it gets you more prepared, I think for professional life, especially also because you play against 25-year-olds."
Graf is expected to be in San Jose today but won't play tonight. Quinn gave no timeline for when he will be on the ice but confirmed that he would arrive in the area at some point today.
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